CORE Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    Renaissance — European Rebirth Movement

    • French word meaning "rebirth"; European cultural and intellectual movement (c. 1300–1600)
    • Originated in Florence, Italy; marked transition from medieval to modern world
    • Revived Greco-Roman classical learning
    • Placed humans (not God) at the centre of inquiry
  2. 2

    Humanism — Core Philosophy of the Renaissance

    • Held that classical texts (studia humanitatis) could improve individual virtue and society
    • Subjects: grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, moral philosophy
    • Petrarch (1304–74) called "Father of Humanism" for recovering Latin manuscripts
  3. 3

    Gutenberg's Printing Press — Knowledge Revolution

    • Johannes Gutenberg invented movable-type printing press around 1440 in Mainz, Germany
    • By 1500 ("incunabula" era), over 20 million books printed across Europe
    • Dramatically reduced the cost of books and enabled standardisation of texts
    • Made literacy and the Reformation possible
  4. 4

    Leonardo da Vinci — The Ultimate Renaissance Man

    • Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519): artist, scientist, engineer, anatomist
    • The Last Supper (Milan, 1494–99, fresco) and Mona Lisa (1503–19, Louvre) — iconic works
    • Scientific notebooks contain designs for flying machines, solar power, and military weapons
    • Ideas were 500 years ahead of their time
  5. 5

    Martin Luther — Spark of the Protestant Reformation

    • Martin Luther (1483–1546) posted 95 Theses on 31 October 1517 at Castle Church, Wittenberg, Germany
    • Challenged the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences and papal authority
    • Excommunicated in 1521 but protected by German princes
  6. 6

    Luther's Three Core Doctrines

    • Sola Fide: Salvation by faith alone, not by works (including indulgences)
    • Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone is authority — not the Pope or Church councils
    • Universal Priesthood of All Believers: Every Christian can interpret scripture without priestly intermediary
  7. 7

    John Calvin — Calvinism and Geneva Theocracy

    • John Calvin (1509–64) established a theocratic state in Geneva
    • Key doctrines: God's absolute sovereignty, predestination (God pre-determines who is saved), strict moral code
    • Calvinism spread to: France (Huguenots), Netherlands, Scotland (Presbyterianism)
    • Influenced Puritanism in England and America
  8. 8

    Henry VIII and the Anglican Church

    • Henry VIII broke from Rome in 1534 to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (not for theology)
    • Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy (1534) declaring the King "Supreme Head of the Church of England"
    • English Reformation created the Anglican Church (Church of England)
  9. 9

    Counter-Reformation — The Catholic Response

    • Council of Trent (1545–63): reaffirmed Catholic doctrines against Protestant challenges
    • Society of Jesus (Jesuits) founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540: missionary and educational order
    • Inquisition used to suppress heresy
    • Index Librorum Prohibitorum: list of banned books published
  10. 10

    Peace of Augsburg (1555) — First Religious Settlement

    • First settlement of religious conflict in Europe
    • Established "cuius regio, eius religio" (whose realm, his religion)
    • Each German prince could determine the religion of his own territory (Catholicism or Lutheranism)
    • Ended decades of religious wars in the Holy Roman Empire
  11. 11

    Northern Renaissance — Christian Humanism

    • Led by Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) of Rotterdam
    • Combined classical scholarship with Christian reform — called Christian Humanism
    • "In Praise of Folly" (1511): satirised Church corruption without breaking from it
    • Erasmus's critical Greek New Testament edition influenced Luther directly
  12. 12

    Scientific Revolution — Renaissance's Crowning Legacy

    • Overlapping with late Renaissance (16th–17th century)
    • Copernicus (1543), Galileo, Kepler, Newton challenged medieval Ptolemaic (Earth-centred) cosmology
    • Replaced it with the heliocentric (Sun-centred) model
    • Empirical observation replaced scholastic authority — the "revolution in worldview" sparked by Renaissance

PREDICTED Predicted RAS Questions

Based on PYQ trends and 2026 syllabus analysis

1 5M What were Martin Luther's 95 Theses? What were his main theological arguments against the Catholic Church? 5 marks · 50 words

Model Answer

Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on 31 October 1517 in Wittenberg, Germany, challenging the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences (paid forgiveness certificates). His key theological arguments: Sola Fide — salvation by faith alone, not works; Sola Scriptura — Bible is sole authority, not Pope; Universal Priesthood — every believer has direct access to God without priestly mediation. These principles fractured Western Christianity permanently.

~50 words • 5 marks

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